Workplace
4. The statement “We aspire to be a great place to work for all employees” is an example of _______________.
A. A value statement
B. A vision statement
C. A mission statement
D. A core competency
B. A vision statement
6. Implementing a quality management system is an example of which basic management function?
A. Planning
B. Organizing
C. Controlling
D. Directing
C. Controlling
5. The words integrity, teamwork, and superior customer service would likely be a part of _______________.
A. A values statement
B. A vision statement
C. A mission statement
D. A core competency
B. A vision statement
1. Which of the following is an example of an internal HR strategic relationship?
A. HR collaborates with line supervisors to identify employees who may fill future management openings.
B. HR ensures compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
C. HR completes a compensation analysis.
D. HR audits education records of all employees.
A. HR collaborates with line supervisors to identify employees who may fill future management openings.
2. What is a primary reason that HR engages in human resource capital management planning?
A. To shorten the time to fill in-demand positions
B. To establish a pipeline for the high turnover positions
C. To provide a framework to guide management and HR through the task of ensuring that the workforce has the skill needed to execute the company’s strategic plan
D. To determine what other business ventures the company can pursue
C. To provide a framework to guide management and HR through the task of ensuring that the workforce has the skill needed to execute the company’s strategic plan
10. Which statement specifies the activities an organization intends to pursue along with the direction management has chosen to follow for the future?
A. Values statement
B. Vision statement
C. Performance statement
D. Mission statement
D. Mission statement
11. Which key performance indicator in a balanced scorecard primarily addresses actions that
will prepare the organization for future success?
A. Finance
B. Customers
C. Internal business processes
D. Learning and growth
D. Learning and growth
12. The purpose of a balanced scorecard is to:
A. Identify an organization’s operational overruns
B. Achieve balance between financial and nonfinancial indicators of
success
C. Establish a balance between assets, liabilities, and equity
D. Be one indicator of an organization’s financial health
B. Achieve balance between financial and nonfinancial indicators of success
7. In which organizational lifecycle phase is the focus to find the most efficient structure and the effort to standardize the organization’s processes to manage the workforce for peak efficiency?
A. Introduction phase
B. Growth phase
C. Maturity phase
D. Decline phase
C. Maturity phase
8. What is the definition of environmental scanning?
A. The process of risk analysis through measurements of an organization’s operational effectiveness
B. The analysis of an organization’s internal performance through measurements of work performance and financial stability
C. The systematic survey and interpretation of relevant data in order to identify external opportunities and threats
D. Outreach to measure and determine the effectiveness of an organization’s “brand”
C. The systematic survey and interpretation of relevant data in order to identify external opportunities and threats
21. Brain drain is a term that defines which of the following statements?
A. The lack of workers with higher education credentials
B. Jobs that require technical knowledge and experience
C. Work that does not require anything more than experience
D. The exit of educated individuals from less-developed to higher developed countries
D. The exit of educated individuals from less-developed to higher-developed countries
18. Which of Michael Porter’s competitive strategies are aimed at capturing market share within an industry by virtue of lowest price?
A. Blue Ocean Strategy
B. Differentiation
C. Cost Leadership
D. Focus
C. Cost Leadership
37. An employee engagement strategy should specify how engagement efforts will be sustained over time.
Which of the following choices is a recommended best practice designed to accomplish this objective?
A. Implement a flextime program
B. Conduct regular employee feedback surveys
C. Link employee engagement to business results
D. Conduct extensive background checks designed to best identify qualified job applicants
C. Link employee engagement to business results
14. A company sets a goal to reduce turnover among the outside sales staff. Which of the following is an example of an internal strategic relationship that would be beneficial in achieving this goal?
A. Weekly planning sessions with the CEO
B. Biweekly informal meetings with the top performing outside sales staff and national sales director
C. Review of the HR budget with the chief financial officer (CFO) to determine modifications to the sales compensation structure
D. Periodic review of turnover ratio with sales staff
B. Biweekly informal meetings with the top performing outside sales staff and national sales director
23. Cherry picking is a term that:
A. Defines the practice of hiring needed skills from a competitor without requiring higher- performance results
B. Is unique to farmers who grow and pick cherries
C. Refers to an employer who pays bonuses to selected employees based on their performance results
D. Offers benefits to selected workers based on their monthly performance results
A. Defines the practice of hiring needed skills from a competitor without requiring higher- performance results
67. Which of the following best describes a learning culture?
A. Your company promotes attending lunch-and-learn sessions where employees on other teams teach others a competency that they’ve developed on the job
B. Your company allows you to use paid time off to attend a conference.
C. Your company encourages employees to join professional associations.
D. Your company promotes attending staff meetings to hear about new company initiatives.
A. Your company promotes attending lunch-and-learn sessions where employees on other teams teach others a competency that they’ve developed on the job
30. The HR team of a large multinational corporation has been asked to find candidates for its engineering roles in Japan. The Japanese location is new, and the team members want to ensure they get a sizable number of applicants and are able to identify the best and brightest quickly. Which of the following strategies would you recommend they leverage?
A. Internet recruiting
B. Predictive hiring
C. Social media recruiting
D. E-recruitment
B. Predictive hiring
15. A pharmaceutical company states in its mission that it will support and enhance the quality of care in the communities it serves. A charity hospital is built 1 mile away from its headquarters. What advice would you provide to the CEO in regard to leveraging this recent development?
A. Establish a partnership with the hospital to offer the patients experimental medications for free
B. Provide discounted or free products to the hospital
C. Offer to involve hospital employees in research projects, as appropriate
D. Open a pharmacy adjacent to the hospital
B. Provide discounted or free products to the hospital
68. An employee attended a training session on project management. She was prompted to do so after her last performance evaluation where she was rated as “needs improvement” in the area of project management. She is now in her performance review meeting almost a year later, and her manager rates her as “needs improvement” again in the same area and suggests further training. The employee is unwilling to attend more training. Why do you think she is resistant to the idea of attending another training session?
A. Change tolerance
B. Peer pressure
C. Nonsupportive manager
D. Lack of trust
D. Lack of trust
97. An employee of a national coffee reseller was recently denied a promotion. Since then he has made several negative statements about the company culture, pay, and promotional opportunities via multiple social media web sites. The facilities manager wants HR’s support in discouraging this type of communication by other employees. As the HR director, how would you address this concern?
A. Train supervisors on the provisions of the Electronic Communications and Privacy Act
B. Develop a company privacy policy that clarifies what is expected of the employee in regard to social media
C. Train staff on the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974
D. Develop a company privacy policy that details Internet use
B. Develop a company privacy policy that clarifies what is expected of the employee in regard to social media
95. A multinational firm has HR representatives in each geographic location, which has worked well to support collaboration among local business functions. However, many HR administrative tasks are duplicated throughout the organization. As the HR executive, what structural changes would you
make to the HR function that could create economies of scale while continuing to encourage collaboration between local business units?
A. Implement a functional HR structure
B. Implement a Center of Excellence (COE) structure
C. Implement a dedicated HR structure
D. Implement a decentralized HR structure
B. Implement a Center of Excellence (COE) structure
13. The executive team of a for-profit private school decides to close all Macon, Georgia locations before the end of the academic year. The Macon locations have not been profitable for 2 years, and since they only go up to kindergarten, the team believes that it will have very little impact on the students. From an HR perspective, which of the following would be a basis for facilitating a discussion about this situation with the executive team?
A. Terminating teachers in the middle of the school year will make it difficult to recruit teachers in the future for the other Georgia locations.
B. A for-profit organization has to make abrupt decisions at times to ensure financial solvency.
C. The kindergarteners can transfer to public schools or another location.
D. The locations were not profitable for 2 years, so the staff should have had a sense that something like this might happen
A. Terminating teachers in the middle of the school year will make it difficult to recruit teachers in the future for the other Georgia locations.
31. The performance of employees at a health care company seems to plateau after the first 3 months of employment. It is reported that many new hires are already looking for a new job after only 2 months. As the HR director, you decide to survey this group. The survey reveals that these employees don’t feel as though they have the tools to do their jobs well. What strategy would you implement to address the quick decline in employee engagement?
A. Form a committee to determine ways to improve employee engagement
B. Make sure new hires have a formal individual development plan to ensure they are continuing to learn and develop
C. Establish a robust onboarding program that extends through the first 180 days
D. Make sure new employees are included in all team-building events
C. Establish a robust onboarding program that extends through the first 180 days
95. During the budget review process in a mature organization, it is determined that there are ten information technology (IT) budgeted positions that are unfilled but only enough money in the budget to fill six of those positions. A deeper analysis of the budget reveals that new hires for this fiscal year are being paid at a rate higher than originally budgeted for because management claims that it has been difficult to find IT professionals with the skill set needed at the original budgeted salaries. How should HR advise senior management if the goal is to fill the remaining ten positions this fiscal year?
A. Hire an outside recruiting agency because they have access to more qualified candidates
B. Hire less skilled IT staff and invest in training
C. Postpone the start of projects because of the lack of staff
D. Approach new hires with this dilemma and get them to agree to a temporary pay reduction
B. Hire less skilled IT staff and invest in training
16. The executive board of a beauty products supplier wants to diversify the business. During the strategic planning process, the executive board identifies their core competencies as logistics and supply chain management. Which of the following would you consider a good direction to take the business that will allow them to capitalize on these core competencies?
A. Open a beauty school that offers salon services to the public and focus heavily on retailing beauty products through the salon
B. Open additional stores with diversified product lines and heavily promote the new product offerings
C. Open a beauty school that offers salon services to the public and focus on offering high-quality educational opportunities for students
D. Expand existing stores by stocking diverse product lines and heavily promote the new product offerings
B. Open additional stores with diversified product lines and heavily promote the new product offerings